Is it over yet? Are the carols gone from the air waves? Have the stores dismantled their decorations? Has Christmas been put away to make room for Valentine’s Day?
It seems like we’ve been preparing for Christmas form months. Does anyone know when the first Christmas displays went up in Wal-Mart?
The first display I saw was on November first. It probably would have been earlier if it weren’t for Halloween.
We waited and waited for Christmas and it was over in a flash. But it did not happen that way for Mary; and we should not let go of Christmas so quickly either.
All who heard the shepherds were amazed at the story they had to tell. It was Mary who kept turning the events over and over in her mind, trying to figure out their meaning. From the moment of the angel’s unbelievable declaration, she realized that for the rest of her days she would be living with mystery. And so she kept all these things in her heart.
Paul reminds us that because Jesus was born of a woman, we are made children of God. The Spirit of Jesus is given to us so that we can call God by the intimate term “Abba,” or Daddy. Is this any less amazing than the report of the shepherds? Yet, when was the last time any one of us went in haste to announce this marvel?
When the first day of the New Year falls on a Sunday we celebrate “The Naming of Jesus.” Another traditional name for this day is “The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” So today we celebrate that wonderful relationship between mother and son; between Mary and Jesus.
One very old tradition for this day is to pray for peace. This year, peace is much more than a seasonal theme. It might conjure up the faces of frightened children dressed in foreign garb, or that of a daughter or son in uniform. Making the prayer of Aaron our own, we beg God to look upon us kindly and give us peace. Here again, Mary may well serve as our model. She considered deeply the events of her life. So must we, if peace is to take root in our day and take flesh in our lives.
As we go forward into this new year, let us all try to remember that we are a people formed through Christmas. Many Christians refer to themselves as Easter people, meaning that they focus their faith on the Resurrection. Others are Good Friday people, centring their faith on Jesus’ suffering for us. We need to be both of these, but we also need to be Christmas people. We need to remember always that God placed himself in our care as a helpless baby; a baby that was given the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), which in Aramaic is יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšûă‘), or Joshua, meaning “Yahweh delivers,” or “Yahweh rescues.”
Jesus had this name before the Resurrection.
Jesus had this name before the crucifixion.
Jesus even had this name before he was born.
So as we start a new year, how are you or I rescued or delivered by God just by knowing that God came among us a human baby.
How can you or I model our families after the relationship between Jesus and Mary?
How can we bring that maternal love into our relationship with the church and each other?
How can we remember, each day, that Aaron’s blessing of Israel, which I repeat most Sundays, has already happened at Jesus’ birth. God has blessed us and kept us. God has made his face to shine upon us. God has been gracious to us. God has lifted up his countenance upon us and given us peace.
We repeat this blessing so often because the blessing of Christmas is not a one day thing. Jesus’ birth changed our relationship with God forever. By remembering Jesus’ birth, we renew that relationship and that blessing every time we bring it to mind. By remembering that love, we can bring that love into our lives.
And so at the beginning of this new year, I pray that we all find the openness to see God’s light and the courage to follow wherever it leads us.
No comments:
Post a Comment